Lottery winners who paid the price

Unluckiest lottery winners

The modern-day fairytale of winning the lottery sometimes plays out more like a soap opera. In some cases, being a millionaire means being much worse off than before -- and not just financially. Here are the stories of some of the unluckiest lottery winners in Canada and the U.S. (DARREN MAKOWICHUK/QMI AGENCY)

Darren Makowichuk/Calgary Sun/QMI Agency

Abraham Shakespeare, Lakeland, FloridaWINNINGS: $30 million, Florida Lotto, 2006
Here's another tale of a winner who ended up dead within a few years. Shakespeare was found buried under a concrete slab. His business partner Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore was sentenced to life in prison for his shooting death in 2012. She had apparently treated herself to $1 million and later claimed it was a gift. (Polk County Sheriff's Office handout)

AP

Jeffrey Dampier, Illinois WINNINGS: $20 million, state lottery, 1996
In addition to treating his family to the good life, Dampier wisely chose to invest some of his winnings into a successful gourmet popcorn shop in Florida. In 2005 he was kidnapped and shot in the back of the head by his sister-in-law and her boyfriend. They're both serving life sentences. (Shutterstock)

Raymond Sobeski, Princeton, OntarioWINNINGS: $30 million, Super 7, 2004
He held onto this winning ticket until his divorce was finalized, which didn't go over well with his savvy ex-wife, who sued him. They came to an undisclosed settlement five years later. His legal drama wasn't over though -- Sobeski sued his ex's lawyer for libel over comments made to the Globe and Mail in 2005. That case is still making its way through the courts. (Ernest Doroszuk/QMI Agency)

William Post III, Pennsylvania
WINNINGS: $16.2 million, state lottery, 1988
He was broke and on disability when he won, but later said he preferred that life to the trail of controversy and destruction that followed his jackpot. Post was $500,000 in debt within three months of receiving his first cheque, according to the Washington Post. After a legal dispute with his landlady over the ownership of the ticket, run-ins with the law, six wives and bankruptcy, he died in 2006. Before his death he was living on a small disability cheque after getting out of jail. (Shutterstock)

Shutterstock

Gerald Muswagon, WinnipegWINNINGS: $10 million, Super 7, 1998
On the day he was laid off from his tree-planting job, Gerald Muswagon bought a lottery ticket and gained a lot of friends.In fact he's said to have bought eight big screen TVs for them in one day. Muswagon struggled with his new life, coming from rural Norway House with a criminal record dating back to 1981. He had trouble with alcohol and spent some time in jail for dangerous driving and sexual assault. The summer before he hanged himself in his parents' garage in 2005, he was working on a friend's farm to support his girlfriend and six kids. His wife had died three years prior. (Handout)

CNW

Allen and Violet Large, Lower Truro, Nova ScotiaWINNINGS: $11.25 million – Lotto 6/49, 2010This sweet elderly couple stole the hearts of Canadians when they announced they were giving away almost their entire jackpot to charity and immediate family.
As their story swirled around the globe, their kindness was met with bad intentions. They were repeatedly by targeted by scammers while Violet was dying of cancer. “We’ve been harassed for over a year, ever since we won,” Allen told the Chronicle Herald. “How can you deal with it without getting bitter?” (Handout)

Lucien Nault, Montreal. WINNINGS : $16.9 million – Lotto 6/49, 2009
This retired taxi driver vowed to spoil his family but he’s now living in a seniors' home and his son and daughter-in-law are dead. His son, Daniel, was hit by a Jeep trying to save his dog not three weeks after his wife drowned in the family's newly-built pool. But things had gone south before that. Daniel didn’t like how much Dad was spending on the neighbours, so he sued them for $1.3 million, claiming his father was being exploited.(MARC PIGEON/QMI Agency)